Elf
Elves are a long lived mortal race with a close connection to nature and magic thanks to their blood ties to the Faerfolc. Many of them prefer to live in forests, guarding nature from those seeking to exploit it. However, other elves have migrated into deserts, snow planes and mountain ranges and have even integrated themselves into human cities. The close relationship between elves and humans throughout the ages has resulted in the births of many half-elves although racism has also existed between the two races due to their different views on life. After the Cataclysm, a mysterious disease known as the Blood Fever affected the elven population in Remon and beyond, killing them off in growing numbers, but this disease vanished mysteriously after the Catastrophe which ushered in the Fourth Age. Despite this reprieve, elves are still fading, their power and numbers now a fraction of what they once were. History Origins How elves came to be has remained a mystery for the ages although they're referred to as the descendants of the Faerfolc so their connection to the preceding fey race gives scholars one way of figuring out their possible origin. Elves are also called the children of Cardia as he was seen as the god most interested in elven affairs and also as a god who guided their path to what it later became. However, this connection didn't stop elves from worshipping other gods such as Mardük and Hephaestus. First Age The majority of elves preferred living in forests which the Faerfolc were no longer guarding after their sealing in the aftermath of the War of the Andain. Some did venture out of their forest homes to interact with humans and other races, notably in the kingdom of Zeal during the First Age. Many traditionalist elves participated in various wars that raged in the world and chose the side of the Grand Alliance to bring Order to a Chaotic world, thus carrying on Cardia's mission. Being a race whose lifespan was only surpassed by dragons and lefein at the time, elves were viewed as graceful, wise and mystical people. Although many humans and dwarves viewed them with distrust, others were more appreciative, and these relationships eventually led to births of half-elves over the ages. Second Age Rise and Decline of Thracia After the First Banishment of Yurius, the Land of the Living changed drastically. A new landmass was formed, and in part of it grew a huge forest land where elves migrated to form a unified elven kingdom where their kin could live in peace. This became known as the Kingdom of Thracia. The elves mostly remained in their nation, and interaction with humans became less common in this Second Age. However, some interaction did occur, and elves did have relationships with humans, one of the more famous and tragic love stories being that of the elven Princess Galadriel of Thracia and the exiled human Prince Agarwaen of Manster. Elves faced a crisis during the Manster Rebellion when King Kheldar allied himself with the demon Yurius, a foe from the First Age, and Yurius decided to turn Thracia into his new base of operations from which to conquer the rest of the world. The demon lord unleashed several demons and monsters into the elven woods, prompting Agarwaen to organize a resistance force from the Fellowship of Miletos. Ultimately Agarwaen and his companions succeeded, sealing Yurius and banishing demons in the Second Banishment which luckily didn't shake the world as much as the First Banishment had done. Fall of the Silver Throne Agarwaen became the king of Manster after dethroning the usurper Kheldar, and for a time the nations of Manster and Thracia lived in prosperity, and elves began interacting with humans more. However, the demons' rampage wouldn't be soon forgotten as several half-demons had been born since the war years. Many of these halfbreeds were killed or kept in hiding, and those who did survive the purges faced contempt, which led many of these half-demon/half-elves to later relocate elsewhere. However, things changed a few years after Yurius's banishment when the warlock Arawn Losstarot appeared with the Mullencamp cult. He began a campaign against elves, massacring them by the thousands while taking over the kingdom of Augustia whose population he won over. Arawn's pogroms against elves made him a hated figure in Thracia, and it was during this time that a strange plague appeared, wiping out people until the new Grand Alliance managed to end the outbreak. Arawn was eventually defeated during a climactic battle in the Arawn Losstarot War, but victory was not without a cost. The magical clash had been so great that it ended up rearranging the world again in the Explosion. One of the direct results of this Explosion was the destruction of Thracia, and the bickering within the royal family, which made elves flee and scatter throughout the new world which had emerged from the ashes of the old one. Third Age The Great Diaspora Elves ended up forming different kingdoms in various nations, basing them on different aspects of what the grand kingdom of Thracia had once represented. One group of elves settled into Folsworth Woods and Lorsworth Woods in Remon, others travelled to Mori'Taure in Aison while the Kemites, Sun Worshippers, chose to settle into The Rocks. The elven worshippers of Hephaestus ended up in Falgorn Island in Yamato where they lived in small numbers, devoting themselves to their faith in metallurgy and smithing. In Libaterra the elves were divided into several clans, most of whom choosing to accompany the highborn nobles to the Celenian Forest, becoming the Celenian elves. Other Libaterran clans chose otherwise, however: the desert elves settled into Tronin Desert in the south and the Libaterran Tribes#Fraquid or snow elves chose to dwell on the Traquine snow plains in the north, while the Hisakata Elves bred with a few surviving demons and created a curious race with traits from both lineages. Rival Houses Over the following centuries the elves of the different kingdoms ended up living lives which differed from their cousins' lives. In Aison the Mori'Taure elves only allowed outsiders into their forests if they were accompanied by a guide but they remained loyal to the human kings of Aison and ensured peace and prosperity in the kingdom for a millennium. The Kemites of the Rocks lived away from other races but did interbreed with humans occasionally, creating a distinctive look. In Libaterra the Fraquid became fierce warriors and intelligent mages who tolerated the human monarchs of Libaterra and traded with human and dwarven cities but were nevertheless distrustful enough to execute those they deemed as attempting to spy on them or if they considered a force in their lands a threat to their well-being. They adapted to living in the north, becoming expert scouts and trappers who could survive even in the harshest of tundras. The desert elves of Southern Libaterra ended up being too weak and scattered to survive against the superior numbers of the human Sarquil tribes who took over their desert home slowly and surely and enslaved them over the following centuries. Despite this, the religious community thrived among the desert elves who were led by their spiritual leader, the Imam. The Celenian elves were the most isolationist elves in Libaterra although they too had a few people wandering about and were willing to trade finely crafted weapons for items, gems and gold. Although most Celenians accepted the rule of the Locken Dynasty, some chose to side with the Rebels instead in the Libaterran Civil War. The Hisakata Elves chose to live in isolation as well in their town of Kirsa, realizing that the demon and elf coexistence among them was more of an exception than a rule. Despit their good intentions, they were found out later on and forced to side with the dominant powers of the Kingdom of Libaterra, sacrificing their autonomy for their lives as they were used as mercenaries, spies and assassins for those ruling over the continent. Remon suffered the most in the following centuries since the Explosion. First an ambitious elven lord Kamelith attempted to usurp the throne from the Thylus family but failed and was banished. He hid in the shadows, slowly amassing followers abroad and associated with the elven Rebels of Libaterra until he formed what became known as the Dark Elves, a faction which wished to unite all elves under Kamelith's leadeship and restore the glory of the once powerful Thracian nation. Dark Times Meanwhile an anti-elven movement gradually grew in Remon, due in part to the machinations of the Clergy of Mardük, which wasn't helped by the actions of dark elves such as Egendaul Korath who actively terrorized Remonian humans. This conflict eventually escalated to the point that elves and humans began killing themselves on sight, and any elves venturing outside their forest homes had to keep their distinct elven features--such as pointed ears--hidden to survive longer than a week in the now hostile land. While all of this was going on, a secluded order of elven scholars and mages known as the Syndicate began studying the Blood Fever, a mysterious and obscure disease which had roots all the way to the Second Age. Their unethical experiments had led to their exile from the rest of the world, and they continued studying magic, unaware that a Dark Sage from among their ranks conducted experiments on his own in Folsworth to make the Blood Fever a disease that would wipe out elves and other races as well. By the time the Syndicate realized this, it was already too late to stop the sage who had gained an apprentice. However, the Syndicate succeeded in securing their knowledge for future generations should those people ever enter their jungle temple. Their struggle was all but forgotten except for a select few who called themselves the Keepers. Great War The Clergy of Mardük's schemes led to things escalating in many kingdoms by the turn of the first millennium in the Third Age. They helped fuel the Dark Elves' cause which intensified the civil war in Libaterra. They framed elves for the attempted assassination of King Byron Kagawest during the Festival of the Ascension in Aison. They funded an anti-elven movement in Fragnar, which led to the decimation of the elven population of Lorsworth Woods. In Yamato, the clerics of Mardük and their Chaos Dwarves invaded the sanctuary of Hephaestus's elven followers on Falgorn, massacring all the elves save Schuldich Cedheros who barely escaped alive. While all of this was going on, the dark clerics continued their work, infiltrating elven governments, some with more successes than others, to prepare for the revival of their dark god Mardük. It wasn't until the Great War when the Fellowship of Tes Pellaria convinced the elves of Folsworth to join their cause, especially after they revealed how the Clergy of Mardük had manipulated the elves for decades from within the Folsworth court. This understanding led to the birth of the Third Age's Grand Alliance, and the elves proved invaluable in the Battle of Folsworth Woods and beyond, helping to liberate Remon from the combined forces of the Clergy of Mardük and the Yamato Empire. The elves of Aison and Libaterra remained more stubborn than their Remonian cousins, choosing to stay within their forests. It wasn't until the Alliance stormed Aison that the elves chose to follow their lead and helped recapture cities from Yamatians and clerics of Mardük. The Libaterran elves remained out of the Alliance's reach, choosing to stay neutral in the conflict after they'd seen the destruction wrought by the civil war and the Yamatian campaigns. The Cataclysm ended the Great War single-handedly, forcing surviving armies to flee to their places of origin while the Godslayer and the freed demons took over the once mighty Yamato Empire. The war had ended, but a new, deadlier time was ahead for the elves of the world. Blood Fever Outbreak The Blood Fever, a disease fatal to elves, had emerged from time to time in Folsworth Woods, killing off hundreds of elves until it had been contained thanks to extreme measures. However, the latest outbreak which occurred after the Cataclysm turned out to be the deadliest, killing off elves not in hundreds but in thousands. The once thriving elven population of Folsworth was reduced to a shadow of its former self after a mere decade had passed. The other nations remained unaffected by the plague. Eventually some elves of Folsworth, notably Rhylian Loras, took it upon themselves to find a cure to the disease by travelling abroad in search of knowledge from foreign sages and libraries. It turned out that a death cult called the Totenkopfs had intentionally hastened the spread of the Blood Fever to weaken the elven population and had even experimented on its effects on non-elven races. The new Alliance rose to combat the menace of the Totenkopfs and to find a means to put an end to the fever in what became known as the Second Great War. Since then, the plague was spotted outside Remon's borders, notably in Libaterra where it spread thanks to infected yet symptomless carriers who had been travelling with the Alliance. Meanwhile a mutated variant of the plague began spreading in Remon, killing off all races and raising them as undead. This new variant became known as the Plague of Undeath, and it more or less decimated most of Remon's population centres. The Grey Cult, which had taken over Aison since the Cataclysm, attacked Mori'Taure and, in a feat which surprised many, managed to breach the elven sanctum and forced a sizable number of Aisonian elves to flee to Folsworth while other elves went into hiding. The Queen of Aisonian elves was caught during the evacuation and was taken prisoner. The desert elves of Libaterra were forced to relocate from thei desert home with the Sarquil masters after the Battle of Vanna when demons took over the desert. The Fraquid decided to open their borders in the north to find out what the rest of Libaterra had been up to. The Celenian elves, however, chose to isolate themselves from the rest of the world even more due to influence from the Faerfolc who had settled into the forest and had been ruling over the elves there since the Cataclysm. The Dark Elves continued expanding their area of influence with the Rebels' and Totenkopfs' help although Kamen Grimgaze, the Master of the Totenkopfs, never intended elves to survive past the war. Little is known of what happened afterwards except that the Catastrophe struck, ending the war and causing many effects, one of which being the mysterious disappearance of the Blood Fever. Although elves had been spared from extinction, their numbers had diminished greatly and most of their kingdoms had fallen in the war, leaving only the fading Celenia as the last elven kingdom of old. Fourth Age Elves' position has weakened in the Fourth Age, especially after the founding of the demonic Andarian Empire which is eager to claim elven resources for itself. Despite this age signalling a twilight of elves and most elves adapting to other races ruling over them, some few remain hopeful that an ancient elven prophecy of the rightful heir to the Silver Throne will emerge from the shadows and unite all elvenkind under one banner to restore the broken kingdom that was once whole, as unlikely as that seems in an age full of uncertainty and unchecked ambitions. Appearance Elves often have graceful, almost lithe bodies although there are exceptions. Their most distinguished physical mark are their pointed ears. They also tend to be taller than humans although some, such as desert elves, can be smaller. Their skin colour ranges from pale to black although the former is the most common. Their clothes vary depending on the region one finds them in. Personality and Traits Many elves tend to be reserved, almost snobbish, although this depends on a person. They all have great knowledge of nature due to their connection to it, whether they live in deserts, snow planes, forests, jungles or cities. Because of their aging process, some elves might mature slower than others but their years of accumulated wisdom tend to make many of them philosophize depending on the situation. They can be just as ruthless and scheming as humans if they want to. Powers and Abilities Elves often are expert archers, mages or sword wielders. They also make ideal rangers due to many of them being knowledgeable about nature and its blessings and dangers. They can get more in tune with magic than other races because of this connection although they still aren't nowhere near the level of dragons or pixies on this regard. See also *Blood Fever *Cardia *Dark Elves *Faerfolc *Peoples *Thracia * Category:First Age Category:Fourth Age Category:Humanoids Category:Second Age Category:Third Age